Package filling machine



M. H. SIDEBOTHAM PACKAGE FILLING MACHINE Nov. 2, 1954 Filed Sept. 26. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l No vpz, 1954 M. H. SIDEBOTHAM PACKAGE FILLING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2 1952 Mwww Unimd Sta es Patent Q PACKAGE FILLING MACHINE Melvin H. Sidcbotham, Winchester, Mass. Application September 26, 1952, Serial No. 311,602 4 Claims. c1. 226-'-94) This invention relates to package filling machinery in general, and more specifically to machinery for filling packages which are attached together to effect a continuous web of packages. Such a package is described and claimed in a patent issued to Roderick W. Hoag, Feb. 28, 1950, Patent No. 2,499,313.

, One object of my invention is to provide a filling device having an agitator element for filling a connected succession of packages with ground spice, powdered products'and other materials'that do not flow easily. With said objects in view and others that will be apparent to those skilled'in the art, my invention consists in the device for filling a web of packages substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the'accompanying'drawings:

Figure 1 isa'f'ront elevation. of the'device.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

. Figure 3 is a partial view at 33 of Figure 2, drawn to a larger scale, showing the mechanism for controlling the discharge of material from the supply hopper.

Figure 4 is a partial section at 4-444 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a partial section at 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a web of fluted packages which this machine is designed to fill.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts or features in all of the views.

,Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the different parts or members of the device are mounted on suitable frame members 1. Brackets 2 mounted on frame members 1 support supply hopper 3 which serves to hold a supply of the commodity to be packaged. The bottom of the hopper 3 has an opening 4 (Fig. 4) through which the commodity passes on its way to the packages. Below the opening 4 and secured to the hopper 3 are shaker guides 5 and 6 which slideably support a shaker carriage 7. Secured to shaker carriage 7 are three agitator rods 8 which are positioned to extend through the hopper opening 4 and into the body of the hopper 3. The carriage 7 is provided with a dispensing control shutter 9 hinge joined to the carriage by hinge 10. The lower end of the control shutter 9 has pivot lugs 11 to which is pivotally secured one end of adjusting rod 12. The other end of adjusting rod 12 is slideably mounted in support arm 13 secured to carriage 7. A collar 14 (Fig. 5) secured to the rod 12 operativelyretains a compression spring 15 positioned between the said collar 14 and support arm 13. The outer end of the adjusting rod 12 is provided with a conventional screw thread 16 to which is operatively engaged an adjusting nut 17. It will be obvious that the rotation of the nut 17 in one direction Will cause the rod 12 to draw the lower end of the control shutter 9 away from the wall 18 of the carriage 7, or if the rotation of the nut 17 is reversed, it will cause the control shutter 9 to approach the wall 18 and thus diminish the size of the opening through which the commodity passes from the hopper to the packages to be filled. It will be obvious that the flow of material from the hopper will thus be controlled by the adjusting nut 17. The slotted end 21 of lever 22 (Fig. 3) secured to shaft 23, engages a pin secured in lug 19 fastened to carriage 7. The shaft 23 (Fig. 4) is rotatably supported by bearing 24 and 25 secured to hopper 3. An operating lever 26 secured to shaft 23 serves to impart a rocking motion to the said shaft 23 causing the lever 22 to move the carriage 7 back and forth. The agitator rods 8, previously described, being secured to the carriage and projecting into the commodity in the hopper 3 keeps the patented Nov. 2, 1954 commodity loose and flowable. If no agitating means are provided, fine ground material will often pack and lump to such an extent that it will not flow.

The rocking motion previously mentioned is imparted to lever 26 by connecting bar 27 (Fig. l) pivotally connected to said lever 26 by pin 28. The opposite end of bar 27 is rotatably connected by means of pin 29 to pinion 30 rotatably mounted on shaft 31 secured to support bar 32 mounted on frame 1. The pinion 30 meshes with and is driven by gear 33 secured to drive shaft 34 rotatably mounted in bearings 35 secured. to top plate 36 supported by bars 32 and 37 mounted on frame 1. The rotation of pinion 30 will obviously cause the connecting bar 27 to move the lever26 to rock the shaft 23. A pulley or chain sprocket 33 secured to shaft 34 is driven by any desired means not necessary to describe. Also secured to and driven by shaft 34 is a pulley 39 over which conveyor belt 40 passes. The conveyor belt 40 is guided and supported at its lower end by idler pulley 41 rotatably positioned on shaft 42 secured to overflow hopper 43 supported by frame 1. The said conveyor belt 443 has fastened thereto a plurality "of pickup cups 44 spaced equidistant about its outside periphery.

The overflow hopper 43 is secured to frame members 1 and serves to catch the product spilled during the package filling operation. At the bottom of the overflow hopper is a sliding door 45 to aid in cleaning out the hopper,

At the top of the overflow hopper 43 is a filling guide plate 46 supported by a guide bar 47 which is secured to overflow hopper 43 and serves as a horizontal'guide for the traveling web of packages A.

In the operation of the machine a supply of the prodnet to be packaged is placed in the supply hopper 3 (Figs.

1 and 2). A WGb'Of packages A (Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 6) having open ends extending upwardly is caused to travel horizontally along the guide plate 46 and over the guide bar 47 (Fig. 4). The adjusting nut 17 (Figs. 4 and 5) is turned to open the feed control shutter 9 to permit a suitable amount of the product to flow downward into the traveling web of packages A.

Power is applied to drive shaft 34 (Fig. 2) which rotates gear 33, with the result that pinion 30 is caused to rotate in the conventional manner to impart a shaking movement through connecting bar 27 to lever 26 and thence through shaft 23 and lever 22 (Fig. 3) to the carriage 7 which in turn agitates the product in the hopper by causing agitator rods 8 to keep the product free and pourable. The rotation of shaft 34 (Fig. 2) also drives the conveyor belt 40 by means of pulley 39. In the filling operation the web of packages A moves continuously along the guide plate 46 and in passing under the feed control shutter 9 the packages are filled with the product to be packaged. The amount of product permitted to be poured downward upon the traveling web A exceeds the capacity of the packages in the Web, with the result that the excess product spills downward into the overflow hopper 43 where it is picked up by the cups 44 on conveyor belt 40 and delivered back into the filling hopper 3. It will be obvious that as the cups 44 and belt 40 ride upward and over the pulley 39, the cups will empty into the hopper 3.

The web of filled packages is advanced from the filling device and suitable top closure applied to seal the product within the packages. The web is then cut to provide individual. filled package units.

It will be readily understood without the need of illustration that any suitable motor may be employed for driving chain sprocket 38, and to draw the web of packets A through the machine.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred construction of my machine and the preferred method for carrying out my invention, these are capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A machine for filling a web of packages, comprising a supply hopper having a dispensing opening at its bottom, a horizontally reciprocating carriage positioned below and adjacent to the opening in the hopper, agitator rods supported by the carriage and projecting through the dispensing opening into the hopper, an adjustable delivery control shutter for controlling the flow of material to the packages, hingedly connected to the carriage and movable across the dispensing opening, an arm secured to said carriage in spaced relation to said shutter, a rod having one end thereof pivotally connected to the shutter and the opposite end thereof extending through said arm, an adjusting nut on the said opposite end of said rod and engaged with said arm for adjusting said shutter, means to impart horizontally reciprocating movement to the carriage, and a guide plate and a guide bar under the carriage to support a movable web of packages.

2. A machine for filling a web of packages, comprising a product supply hopper having a dispensing opening, a horizontally reciprocating carriage positioned below and adjacent to the opening in the hopper, an adjustable delivery control shutter pivoted to the carriage and movable across the dispensing opening, an arm secured to said carriage in spaced relation to said shutter and having an aperture therein, a rod having one end thereof pivotally connected to said shutter, the opposite end of said rod extending through said aperture, a nut threadedly engaged with said opposite end of the rod and bearing against said arm for eifecting adjustment of said shutter, agitators carried by said carriage and extending upwardly through the dispensing opening into the hopper, means to impart horizontally reciprocating movement to the carriage and a guide plate and guide bar under the carriage disposed under the shutter to support the web of packages for movement across the dispensing opening.

3. In a machine for filling a web of packages, a material supply hopper having a horizontal bottom wall provided with an elongated material discharge opening, a carriage having a longitudinal slidable connection with said hopper, and including a vertically disposed Wall at one side of said opening, said carriage further including a wall portion of the opposite side of said opening and in angular relation tov said wall, agitator. rods. having their lower ends secured to said wall portion with the body portions thereof projecting through said opening and into said hopper, a rectangular shutter having one edge thereof pivotally connected to the lower edge of said wall portion and which shutter cooperates with said vertical wall for controlling the discharge of material from the hopper, and means supported by said carriage foruadjusting said shutter toward and from said vertical wa 4. A machine for filling packages comprising a hopper having a dispensing opening at its bottom, a carriage under said hopper mounted for reciprocating movement and having depending inner and outer side walls, a shutter pivoted along the lower edge of the outer side wall and movable towards and away from the inner side wall across the dispensing opening for controlling flow of material through the dispensing opening, a supporting arm disposed in outwardly spaced relation to the frame opposite said shutter, a rod pivoted to said shutter and having a threaded outer end portion slidably passing through an opening in said arm, a nut screwed upon the threaded outer end portion of said rod and when turned in one direction shifting the shutter toward an opened position, a spring urging the shutter towards a closed position, agitators carried by said outer wall and extending upwardly into said hopper, and a guide bar and a guide plate for supporting packages below the frame and under the dispensing opening in position to be filled with material flowing from the hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 740,735 Blake Oct. 6, 1903 1,420,222 Schmidt June 20, 1922 2,328,564 Lightfoot et al. Sept. 7, 1943 2,456,873 Hopkins Dec. 21, 1948 

